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Serri Graslie
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Serri Graslie

Wednesday

Thursday

Don't Let The Price Of Pine Nuts Keep You From Pesto

Julia della Croce says pistachio pesto is an economical — and delicious — alternative when Italian pine nuts can cost up to $120 per pound. Nathan Hoyt/Courtesy of Julia della Croce hide caption

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Nathan Hoyt/Courtesy of Julia della Croce

The Salt

Don't Let The Price Of Pine Nuts Keep You From Pesto

Hungry bugs and warmer temperatures mean pine trees aren't producing as many seeds as they once did, driving up the cost of Italian pine nuts to $120 per pound in some cases. Cookbook author Julia della Croce found a colorful — and delicious — alternative in pistachios.

Don't Let The Price Of Pine Nuts Keep You From Pesto

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Thursday

Fizz And Fireworks: Make A Patriotic Homemade Soda For The Fourth
Audie Cornish for NPR

The Salt

Fizz And Fireworks: Make A Patriotic Homemade Soda For The Fourth

Homemade sodas are hot these days: Americans bought more than 1.2 million home carbonators last year. For the Fourth of July, we asked mixologist Gina Chersevani to help us tap into the trend with a soda float inspired by Independence Day.

Fizz And Fireworks: Make A Patriotic Homemade Soda For The Fourth

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Thursday

Saving Grandma's Strawberry Cake From The Clutches Of Jell-O

Jeremy Jackson wanted to rethink his grandma Mildred's famous Strawberry Cake recipe, which uses boxed cake mix and Jell-O. His updated cupcake version is shown on the right. Jeremy Jackson for NPR hide caption

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Jeremy Jackson for NPR

The Salt

Saving Grandma's Strawberry Cake From The Clutches Of Jell-O

Postwar marketing of convenience foods pushed our grandmothers to take many shortcuts in the kitchen that modern foodies might find unpalatable. Many involved Jell-O. Cookbook author Jeremy Jackson updated his grandma Mildred's famous strawberry cake recipe to remove this old-school secret ingredient.

Saving Grandma's Strawberry Cake From The Clutches Of Jell-O

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Friday

Inventor Dies As 'Breathable' Nail Polish Becomes Hit With Muslim Women

A worker paints fingernails with O2M polish at an Inglot shop in a Polish shopping center. The breathable nail polish has become a hit with Muslim women. Czarek Sokolowski/AP hide caption

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Czarek Sokolowski/AP

The Two-Way

Inventor Dies As 'Breathable' Nail Polish Becomes Hit With Muslim Women

Wojciech Inglot was a chemist and entrepreneur who tried to come up with a more healthful alternative to traditional nail polish. He died Feb. 23.

Inventor Dies As 'Breathable' Nail Polish Becomes Hit With Muslim Women

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Wednesday

International Culinary Competition Gold Eludes Americans Again

The plating of Team USA's Irish beef dish was based on Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater house. Courtesy of Bonjwing Lee hide caption

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Courtesy of Bonjwing Lee

The Salt

International Culinary Competition Gold Eludes Americans Again

There's one honor that's long eluded Americans at the top of the culinary field: the coveted Bocuse d'Or. This year was no exception, though Team USA made a valiant effort with an Appalachian-inspired menu that included squash, ham and mushrooms.

Tuesday

Have We Met Before? Doppelgangers Caught On Camera

Rudi Kistler and Maurus Oehmann, Mannheim 2012 Courtesy of Francois Brunelle hide caption

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Courtesy of Francois Brunelle

The Picture Show

Have We Met Before? Doppelgangers Caught On Camera

For the past several years, Francois Brunelle has been photographing people who happen to look strikingly similar but aren't related.

Have We Met Before? Doppelgangers Caught On Camera

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Tuesday

Buying Food Past Its Sell-By Date Tough To Swallow For Greeks

Bargain-hunting Greek shoppers may soon have more options at the grocery store. The government is asking retailers to discount expired nonperishable products in response to rising food prices. Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Fayez Nureldine/AFP/Getty Images

The Salt

Buying Food Past Its Sell-By Date Tough To Swallow For Greeks

Incomes have dropped nearly 50 percent in Greece, but food prices are at record highs. Now the Greek government is encouraging retailers to discount nonperishable food that's past its sell-by date. And it's not going over well.

Buying Food Past Its Sell-By Date Tough To Swallow For Greeks

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Thursday

Willing To Play The Dating Game With Your Food? Try A Grocery Auction

Grocery auctions have been growing in popularity as a way to get a lot of food for not a lot of money. Matt Sindelar for NPR hide caption

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Matt Sindelar for NPR

The Salt

Willing To Play The Dating Game With Your Food? Try A Grocery Auction

Grocery auctions find eager buyers for food that is discontinued, seasonal or near its sell-by date. The food is generally still good after its sell-by date, and these auctions may be one answer to America's growing food waste problem.

Willing To Play The Dating Game With Your Food? Try A Grocery Auction

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Thursday

Hundreds Battle For International Cheese Glory In Wisconsin

A judge smells a block of cheese at the World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, Wis. Judges carefully appraise a cheese's look, smell and texture before they taste it and spit it out. Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association hide caption

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Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association

The Salt

Hundreds Battle For International Cheese Glory In Wisconsin

This year's World Championship Cheese Contest received a record 2,503 entries from 24 countries. Traditional heavyweights in the U.S. and France were well-represented, making it tough for first-time competitors from India, Estonia, Romania and Croatia to catch the judges' attention.

Saturday

Music

Community Orchestra Makes A Healthy Dose Of Music

A lawyer, a doctor and an engineer walk into an orchestra rehearsal. It's not the set-up of a joke, it's what happens every week at rehearsals for the National Institutes of Health Community Orchestra. The volunteer group draws it's members from all over Washington, D.C., and is a creative outlet for government and private sector employees alike. NPR's Serri Graslie is a member of the group and has an audio postcard from their latest concert.

Community Orchestra Makes A Healthy Dose Of Music

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Saturday

The Good Old Yule Log Spreads To HDTV

A screencap of the iconic WPIX Yule Log. The original video was filmed in 1966; this version was redone in 1970. WPIX hide caption

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WPIX

Television

The Good Old Yule Log Spreads To HDTV

The yule log debuted on WPIX in New York City 45 years ago this Christmas. Since its first broadcast, the log has inspired a quirky genre of film that's finding new popularity on high-definition televisions and beyond.

The Good Old Yule Log Spreads To HDTV

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Saturday

Economy

Even More Uncertainty Faces Young And Unemployed

Young adults have had an especially hard time in this economic downturn. The unemployment rate for those in their twenties is double that of the general population. And many young job applicants are finding themselves competing with older, more experienced workers for what used to be entry-level jobs. Meet two twenty-something women who are struggling with unemployment in different ways.

Even More Uncertainty Faces Young And Unemployed

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Friday

Saturday

Anti-Government Protests Roil Egypt

Unrest In Egypt Isn't Keeping All Tourists Home

There are thousands of foreign tourists in Egypt right now and many are traveling on group tours. The Egyptian government's shutdown of internet and phone service is making it difficult for tour operators to stay in touch with their employees and monitor the safety of their clients.

Unrest In Egypt Isn't Keeping All Tourists Home

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